Portsea Hotel

Ok, so I attended a wedding here as a guest. I have more negatives than positives, which is why I rate this place 2 star. The positives. 1. As a wedding guest, in their function room, I found the views were beautiful, especially being high up. There were sweeping views of the bay. Incredible. 2. The food was also really beautiful. It was served alternatively, and all meals were really delicious.

The negatives. 1. The stairs to get to the function room. Where is the disability access??!! My 80 year old mother struggled climbing the 3 flights of steep stairs. She stopped half way and had to catch her breath. She has athsma and we were lucky she didn’t have an attack. It was a 30 degree day too which didn’t help the situation. I was so angry. So if a person in a wheelchair, or if someone had a broken leg was invited to a wedding at Portsea Hotel, what happens then?? - the simply can’t come?? Absolutely terrible. 2. The parking!! Omg!! Considering this is a wedding venue, get some parking sorted for your guests!! On the way there, I said to my husband surely they should have parking on the premises reserved for guests using their venue. But no. We were actually early to this wedding (thank god), and we struggled to find anything nearby. It resulted in us having to park so far away in a 2 hour spot (most car parks nearby are 2 hours, so you’ll have to move your car throughout the wedding). Let me just say, the long walk from the car to the Portsea Hotel in heels wasn’t overly pleasant. And there is a possibility you will be late for the bride’s arrival if you’re struggling for time looking for a car park so as a guest, make sure you’re not running late. 3. Finally, my last gripe, the position of where this function room sits means the afternoon sun shines straight in the venue, meaning the sun beams on you. We had a 30 degree day, and while it was beautiful having all the windows open in the venue to have the beautiful display of the ocean at view, we were seated at a table like sardines where the sun was beaming on the back of our heads, and on our backs. I actually had to put a large napkin on my back as my back was exposed due to my strapless dress and was getting burnt. The people at the front of me on the table were facing the sun directly. Everyone was uncomfortable. Everyone was moving their chairs and trying to find some shade in the venue. We had a 30 degree day - I can’t imagine what a 40 degree day would look like. This was bad enough. Everyone had their napkins fanning themselves it was really unbearable having to sit at our spots at the table. Portsea Hotel needs to get this sorted. Get some transparent blinds that block out the sun for times like these. Let the sun go down, then open the blinds because your guests are very, very uncomfortable on a hot summers day, which I’d imagine is when most of your weddings are held.

Overall, as a guest, I had a horrible experience. One of the worst weddings I’ve attended and I’ve attended a few. I would not recommend.